


Making It Count

by sleepismyfriend



Category: Doctor Who (1963), Doctor Who (2005), Sarah Jane Adventures
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-29
Updated: 2015-10-29
Packaged: 2018-04-28 17:33:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5099501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sleepismyfriend/pseuds/sleepismyfriend
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jo likes to point out the obvious, especially when she sees two of her favourite people NOT acknowledging the obvious.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Making It Count

"Alright ladies, once more from the top," the Doctor said, jacketless in red braces, a pale pink shirt, and a solid-coloured red bowtie. He stood before two of his former companions while pinching the bridge of his nose.

Jo and Sarah sat next to each other in the hard plastic chairs provided, exchanging worried glances. It hadn't been six months since the last time the duo's rather compatible dynamic had gotten them in a whirlwind of trouble.

The short version of the story was much easier to explain. The Doctor, Jo, and Sarah were in a cell, of human origin and design, per Jo and Sarah having discovered an alien smuggling operation on the landing gears of a Boeing 747 leaving Heathrow for New York. 

Between Jo's demanding flails and Sarah's sonic lipstick, they had made their way out to the tarmac. Jo went right up to the landing gear, and untied each and every alien from the complicated rope knots. As Sarah then rounded up the newly freed aliens onto a luggage carrier, Jo gave the taller two aliens, who looked in charge, a stern talking to.

Unfortunately for the two in charge, the TARDIS was within range by that point, and had translated each and every word of what Jo had said. Her lecture in a comprehendible tongue delivered a crushing blow to the spiky blue toned aliens, who hung their head in shame while Sarah drove the luggage carrier in wide figure eights to avoid the impending local authorities.

The Doctor appeared right before UNIT arrived, and surrounded them. With the Doctor having known Sarah and Jo on sight, two lowly privates in red berets escorted all three to a holding area inside the terminal until further notice.

"Well, you see, Doctor—" Jo began, still clutching her oversized green hobo bag. "If I hadn't been early, and Sarah hadn't been late, then—" 

"Jo, maybe you should start before that. Like if Luke hadn't changed his departure time—" Sarah said, shaking her face down further into the palm she was resting on. 

"You're absolutely right, Sarah Jane. I should start earlier, but then I feel I should add, if Santiago had called me from Buenos Aires before I left Rome like he was supposed to, and Luke hadn't changed his departure time—"

Sarah sighed. 

"If Santiago had called you from Buenos Aires before you left Rome like he was supposed to, and Luke hadn't changed his departure time, then I wouldn't have been as late to the airport to get you because Luke would have already left to go back to Oxford. You would have missed your plane talking to Santiago, and wouldn't have seen the smuggling ring."

"Th—That's right—" Jo said, stuttering. "I would have caught the next one, and those aliens would have left without anyone catching them, including you, Doctor."

"Oy, I have very keen eyesight, thank you," the Doctor replied, un-pinching his nose. He sat on the edge of the table. "20/20 last time I visited the TARDIS's School of Optometry. I would have seen through their projection filter."

"They had tied the smaller aliens up against the wheels, like defenceless babies about to be crushed." Jo's eyes widened, as her voice softened. "Really, you wouldn't have wanted to see that, would you? Wasn't what we did best?"

"I suppose," the Doctor said, crossing his arms. "Though now, we're going to be forced to explain to UNIT what we're doing here. I hate explaining things."

"Since when? You love explaining things. That's all you've ever done is explain things," Jo said, much to the Doctor's glare. 

"She's right," Sarah said.

"What kind of best friend are you, Smith?"

"The best and truthful kind," Sarah said, smirking. "So, UNIT, eh? Are we going to be greeted by yet another Brigadier, or is Kate going to greet us herself?"

"I dunno. I thought I saw her blonde bob whizzing about amongst the authorities, but I'm not sure. If it is Kate, both of you behave. The last thing I need is to have another Lethbridge-Stewart thinking I'm a cotton headed ninny muggins amongst her gadgets and gizmos aplenty." 

"You are a cotton headed ninny muggins though," Jo replied, tilting her head. "And if she's UNIT, she most definitely has gadgets and gizmos aplenty at her disposal."

"What -is- a cotton headed ninny muggins?" Sarah looked confused. "And why are we making silly Disney references at a time like this?" 

"None of that is important," the Doctor said, straightening. A moment later, the cell door opens, and Kate walked in, solo.

"Doctor, Sarah Jane, Mrs Jones—" Kate's expression was much like her father's, staunch and to the point. "I can't say I exactly approve of what you've done, but I think I've managed to get the charges dropped pending a full investigation of airport security. Apparently, the Met does not like their officers being outrun by two pensioners."

Kate made air quotes with a disgusted sigh, "their words, not mine."

"Yes, and I am not to blame," the Doctor said, making a circle around his face, quite pleased. "Not this time, not this face."

"Says the Emperor to his Empire," Kate said. 

"Did we save them?" Jo asked. "The aliens, did Sarah Jane and I save them?"

"Yes," Kate nodded, turning her attention to Jo. "All eight of the smaller ones were taken from the luggage carrier, and are being held until we know what to do with them. The two larger ones are members of an alien race we're quite familiar with. They will be used as bargaining chips in the negotiations we have planned for next month when their trade ships cross our orbit."

"I don't like that—" The Doctor's tone changed, sharpening with a slight tinge of menace. "No being should ever be a bargaining chip."

"In an ideal universe, Doctor, I would tend to agree, but as we are not in one—"

"Your father—"

"My father did what was best for this planet, and as I am following in his overwhelming footsteps, I'm doing the best as I can. Also, I don't answer to you." Kate's tone rose before looking to Sarah. "Sarah Jane, you understand, don't you?"

"I used to say not where non-peaceful solutions are concerned, but then I became a mum," Sarah said, her voice soft yet steady. "For the smaller aliens, I think you should allow ACE to sort their immigration. For the larger ones, I think you should try your absolute best not to let things deteriorate during negotiations."

"I can only try."

"That's all we've ever needed," Jo smiled.

\--

As Kate led them down the hallway from the temporary cell, Jo walked on one side of the Doctor while Sarah walked on the other.

"So, she's the Briggy's Katie, all grown up?"

"Yes," Sarah said. "And she's very good at what she does."

"Her father would be quite pleased that his offspring continues the Lethbridge-Stewart tradition of never letting me off the hook," the Doctor said.

"Doctor?" Kate looked over her shoulder. "While we have you, there are a few things I'd like for you to review. I've brought our mobile lab and my assistant along."

"It'd be my pleasure," the Doctor said, smiling, as he stepped forward, leaving Jo and Sarah to walk behind them. Jo slowed her pace, making sure the Doctor was several steps ahead, and in mid-conversation with Kate. She watched Sarah's eyes remain ahead of them.

"Oh ho ho, I know that look."

"What look?" 

"That look that says that you're still in love with him." Jo's statement was quick, as she motioned her head forward.

"What? Don't be ridiculous." Sarah's gaze shifted. The Doctor and Kate were to the end of the hallway, turning the right corner.

"Am I?" As her voice rose, Jo watched Sarah's expression shift, and slipped her arm through Sarah's to resume their walk. "You may deny it to some people, but you forget I am one of the club."

"There's a club?"

"Of people who loved the Doctor at some point. I may insist the good Captain make membership pins next time we all get together," Jo laughed, but Sarah didn't laugh with her. "I didn't say there was anything wrong with it."

"Jo—I—" 

"I had hoped at some point you had heeded my words, and found yourself a nice fellow. Or a lady, if that's your sort of thing. As it turns out, you're still holding out for the most unattainable catch of them all."

Sarah's face fell, as she thought of her short-lived romance with Peter Dalton. The Doctor's youthful looking face melded in with the memory, and she shook her head.

"I never meant to."

"No one ever does," Jo smiled. 

"Do you ever regret leaving him?"

"No." Jo shook her head. "Because, at the end of the day, Cliff means more to me than any adventure I could have out there. I had my time in Neverland, and I don't regret how it ended."

They turned the corner.

\--

A slight breeze hit Jo's face, as she spun around several steps ahead of the Doctor and Sarah. The Doctor smiled, as Sarah laughed. 

"A bit happy there, Jo?" the Doctor asked, pushing his hair back with one hand. 

"Any moment I can save a life, human or otherwise, Doctor, I am as happy as a lark." Jo's grin was infectious, as the Doctor and Sarah's grin widened. "Though it's probably a good thing Sarah and I aren't together more often. You should have seen your face."

"Yes, about that—" the Doctor said, his head tilting towards Sarah. "I do wish I was given a bit of warning when you two decide to visit one another."

"Why?" Sarah slipped her hand into the crook of the Doctor's elbow, and leaned in. "We are grown women, who can do whatever we like whenever we like."

"That is what concerns me the most, Smith," the Doctor said, tapping Sarah's nose, and Sarah smirked. Jo tilted her head, but said nothing. They continued walking towards the TARDIS when Jo stopped.

She spun around with a startled expression. 

"Is everything alright?" The Doctor asked.

"No—Far from alright. In fact, everything is downright terrible," Jo replied.

"What is it?" Sarah asked, dropping her hand from the Doctor's arm, as she took a step forward.

"I don't know where I've left my luggage." Jo's hands went to her cheeks. "Oh, bollocks, Cliff will never let me hear the end of this. I'm the cotton-headed ninny muggins this go round, aren't I?"

"Yes, you are," the Doctor grinned.

\--

When they had reached Bannerman Road, the Doctor by TARDIS and Sarah and Jo by car, Sarah had offered to order takeaway, and the Doctor had shook his head. He would make a quick pop to the store, and come back and prepare a proper supper.

"You shouldn't doubt me, Smith," he said, having promised both women there would be nothing with unknown tentacles. 

Sometime later, they sat around Sarah's kitchen table.

"Jo, are you sure you want the Doctor to take you all the way home? You just got here," Sarah said, standing to clear the dishes. Jo nodded, and handed Sarah her plate.

"I know how ridiculous I sound, and I’m sorry. But, it's the TARDIS, Sarah Jane. I have so many memories in the old girl. Think of the time I'll save."

"We'll be there before you know it," the Doctor said.

"I'll keep Mr Smith open, just in case," Sarah warned, eyeing the Doctor, as he smiled.

\--

"You're still in love with Sarah Jane," Jo said, watching, as the Doctor circled the console, setting coordinates. He met her eyes.

"What? Don't be ridiculous."

"Heh," Jo snorted. "She said the same thing."

"Who?"

"Sarah Jane," Jo said, approaching. "And much like you, she was quick to deny it too."

"Love is an abstract human concept. Formed from bigger ones like the need for companionship." He looked away.

"Which is why you have companions," Jo added. "You can't stand being by yourself for very long."

"And yet you presuppose that by my need for companionship, I too carry the need for love."

"Carry it? What a ridiculous use of the English language. We're not luggage. We're humans, and whether you like it or not, you have feelings inside that dumbo brain of yours." Jo's use of the word _dumbo_ made the Doctor smile, as he stopped flipping switches to lean back against the console.

"And you think my feelings extend more for Sarah than anyone else?"

"I think you've loved us all at one point," Jo sighed, grabbing for one of the rails before sitting half perched on the console seat. "But when our time together ends, you move on, find someone else. Rediscover those emotions all over again."

Jo paused. "I've seen the way you look at Sarah Jane. It's like your adventures never ended. You used to look at me that way, you know. Well, when I thought you were looking—"

"I'm sorry, Jo," the Doctor said. "I was so young—"

"What's gone is gone, Doctor." Jo waved her hand, as if to wave the notion away. "And I've never held any of it against you because without you, I would have never found Cliff."

"You once said Cliff was a younger me," the Doctor smiled, circling back around towards her. "He can't possibly be all bad then."

Jo raised an eyebrow. "Which still begs the question, do you still love Sarah Jane now as much as you used to?"

"You've grown wiser in your years, Miss Grant," the Doctor said, making use of her old name to prove a point. "Brilliantly without me, I might add."

"Experience does that to you," Jo shrugged.

The Doctor sighed. "I don't suppose you'd live without an answer?"

Jo shook her head.

"I've met some of your other companions, you know. The teachers from Coal Hill? The mouth on legs from Oz? Even that brilliant woman, who runs that alien charity. They all share their stories, and I share mine, and there's finality to them. Sarah Jane doesn't have that, and I think it's about time she should."

"You'd be asking her to give up what she loves, which is protecting the Earth."

"No." Jo shook her head. "Because despite all things, the Earth is safer from having a Sarah Jane to defend it. I'm asking you to let her go."

Jo saw the look in the Doctor's eyes change, and when she received no response, she continued. "Because no one should spend their lives accepting so little. Not only is it unfair of you, it's unfair of her."

The Doctor stared at her long before he replied. 

"Would you look at that—Jo Jones, the voice of reason. Who'd have thought?"

"You've never given me enough credit where credit is due." Jo waved a finger. "Not that I can hold it against you now, I suppose. At least think about what I've said."

"I can think all I like, but that doesn't mean I know how to reply," the Doctor said, stepping forward to flip a switch and monitor the Time Rotor before facing her.

"Simple—Answer the bloody question." Her hoarse laugh surprised him.

"I have loved you all. Each in my own separate way, and in my own separate time. Even when I shouldn't have." The Doctor's eyes dropped, and Jo paused before continuing. 

"When you look at me, Doctor, how do you feel?" Jo tilted her head.

"You're my friend. One of my very oldest friends, actually. Which means a lot more to me than it probably does to you."

"Fair enough," Jo replied. "When we met again, you told me I had been baked, which is probably a more accurate statement than I'd even like to admit. Which brings me back to before."  
Jo smirked, standing. She stepped forward, placing both hands on each side of the Doctor's face. "When you look at Sarah Jane, you light up. You don't seem to see the gentle crinkles at the corner of eyes, or that she doesn't run quite as fast as she used to. All you see is her, and that my dearest darlingest Doctor, means something."

The Doctor opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Jo watched him try again, and she giggled.

"Now who'd have ever thought—Me, making the Doctor speechless." Her thumbs traced a soft trail across the top of his cheeks.

"It's only been done a handful of times," the Doctor said, pulling her hands from his face, but not letting go. His eyes narrowed, as he stared at her. "I don't care about your age, Jo. I just—Never wanted to lose you. Any of you."

"And yet, you have to." Jo's wistful look did nothing to help the situation. "Because it's how we've grown, Doctor. Take it from me—Feelings left unattended work themselves out in other ways. You and Sarah Jane need to talk."

"I'll take that into consideration."

"After you safely pilot me home, of course." Her eyes scan the room. "This old thing looks as magnificent as ever."

"Jo—" 

"You still manage to avoid questions. Perhaps, some things haven't changed." Her grin widened, and she squeezed his hands. "Home, Doctor."

\--

Sarah barely heard the TARDIS materialize on the landing behind her before turning to see the Doctor closing the door behind him, jacketless once again.

"Back so soon?"

"Oh, I had to drop Jo off, you know how that goes." He waved his hand. "She wanted me to meet the children."

"What about the grandchildren?"

"They were there too. Thirty-seven people in one room, it felt like. And the dog, known lovingly to the Jones family as Doc. Her living room is most definitely not bigger on the inside."

"How did Cliff take the missing luggage?" 

"Like a champ," the Doctor said, grinning. "He baited Jo for at least 30 minutes before she realized what he was doing, and gave him a good swat in front of the kiddies."

The Doctor sat down on her stairs, and Sarah moved to join him.

"I thought after that, you'd be on your way. Places to go, planets to save, that sort of thing."

"Is that how it is now? We save the universe, and then I leave? Whatever happened to spending time with my best friend?" Whatever had happened in the TARDIS with Jo, and Sarah had her suspicions, the Doctor appeared rattled.

"You know you are always welcome." Sarah touched his arm. "So, what's bothering you?"

"Jo said some things. Things I don't know exactly how to put into words." His voice lowered as Sarah sighed.

"She certainly has no problem voicing her opinions."

"She seems to think I've held you back. Kept you from moving forward and all that nonsense." The Doctor looked to the floor.

"And is that what you think?" Sarah's voice remained steady.

"I've always thought I had given you the chance to do whatever it was you wanted, give or take a few things."

"Doctor, whatever Jo said, they are just that. Things that Jo said. They can mean everything, or they can mean nothing."

"But what if she was right? Despite my initial misgivings, my companions are generally insightful. What if there's some small truth to what she said?"

"Even if she's right, which I'm not saying she is, what good does it do for us to have this conversation now? It's not going to change anything."

"Or it could change everything," the Doctor said, leaning forward on both knees. "Maybe then we could stop pretending."

"Stop pretending what? That you're a 900-year-old alien and I'm a 60 something pensioner with only one heart?"

"Shows what you know. I'm closer to 1100. We are both pensioners to be chased after."

"Doctor—Be that as it may. For all our attempts at trying to hold on, we lose grip the more we're together."

"When you put it like that, it's quite depressing."

"Yes, well, we were never meant to have a happy ending. The Time Lords made sure of that," Sarah said.

The Doctor watched as Sarah retreated, staring forward at Mr Smith. He reached for her, threading his fingers through one of her hands. The weight was as comfortable as always, yet the air of possibility swayed around them. 

"The Time Lords are long gone. Maybe we should consider that their ending for us is gone as well," he replied.

Sarah continued staring forward.

"Or on the list of bad ideas, maybe this one was the top, and I've botched things. I should go."

The Doctor stood, and as he circled around Sarah, he could see the slight moisture in her eyes. He bent to her level, taking her hands. He didn't look up, as she spoke.

"We can never go backwards, Doctor, only forwards." Her voice was soft. "I'll never want you to go, but I know you well enough to know you can't stay."

"And, you're okay with that?" He remembered Jo's words from earlier, the ones about Sarah accepting the little he could give her. The look in her eyes said much more than her voice ever would, as their eyes met. 

"How much more trouble would we have been in back in the day if we had acted in ways we shouldn't have?" Sarah's eyes glassed over.

"The same amount of trouble we're in now, I suspect." The Doctor dropped Sarah's hands, and stood, his knees beginning to ache. He held out his hand to help her stand, and kept their joined hands loose between them. 

"Wanting something and having something are two different things."

"So is loving someone and not loving someone." He stared at their hands, finishing her thought before she had the chance. 

"And you know how to love a human, is that it?"

"As much as you know how to love a Time Lord," he replied.

"Doctor, be serious."

"I am." The Doctor tugged her closer towards him, and settled both hands on her waist. "Just how many Time Lords have you had a close relationship with in order to know how to do it properly? We are a very tetchy group, you know."

"One, and every time we met, he was incessantly persistent." Sarah placed one hand over each heart. "Even when the idea was not a good one."

"Yes, but unlike before, there's no one now to tell us we can't." His voice lowered, as the emotional guards he had held so tight over the centuries fell away. "Do you want me to wait another 500 years? There's no telling what I'll look like. Maybe I'll be old and grey like the dandy—"

Sarah's hands traced the edge of his jaw. "I could never say no to you."

"You say no to me all the time." The Doctor tried to smile. "Remember the school? You could have stuck around. Helped me rebuild K9."

Sarah fixed him a look. "You really think that was a good idea? You, me, Rose, and both tin dogs?"

The Doctor snickered.

"It would have smoothed out eventually. We could have gotten here a whole lot faster."

"You don't know that."

"Do you want me to go back and test it?"

"There's no telling where you'd end up."

"You let me be the judge of that. I can be very persuasive." He stepped back, tapping her on the nose before moving towards the TARDIS. "Be back in two clicks, Smith."

"Doctor—" The pleading in her voice didn't settle well with him, and he turned to see a scared look on her face. "Please don't—" 

Sarah's words were cut off by the fact he had crossed the several steps between them, pulling her towards him as his mouth came down on hers. Time stopped, as her hands settled on his waist, and his right hand curved around her, settling along her lower back. The left ended up on the base of her neck and in her hair, the dark strands slipping through his fingers.

The Doctor pulled back, his forehead touching hers. "Sorry—so sorry about that. Not about kissing you, that was incredible, it's this new thing I'm trying—" 

"Doctor—" 

"Called showing you how I feel." His eyes closed, the Doctor's face shifted along hers, as he dropped his arms to surround her. "How am I doing so far?"

"Can't take it back now," Sarah said. 

"I've spent so many days missing you," he whispered along her ear, as he remembered the curly-haired bohemian he used to be. "How many more must I spend?"

"As many as you can," Sarah said, setting her head against his chest, hearing the rhythm of four beats. "To make it count for when you do see me."

He kissed the top of her head. 

"We won't count today, okay?"

"We'll start tomorrow," Sarah smiled.


End file.
